Zynga acquires multiplayer games developer A Bit Lucky

Games company Zynga has acquired multiplayer, multiplatform games developer A Bit Lucky, it said Monday.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Zynga described it as a "small acquisition."

A Bit Lucky will help Zynga move from its focus on casual games to a new category of midcore, multiplatform games.

Midcore gaming is the market segment comprised of players looking for a more in-depth experience than a casual game, yet one that is not as time-consuming as a core game, according to Newzoo, a market research firm focused on the gaming industry. It estimated in April that the market for midcore gaming is over US$2 billion in the U.S. and Europe.

Zynga executive Bill Jackson said in a blog post that he is "excited to share some news about a new category that you may have heard us hint at before: mid-core, multi-platform games."

All the over 20 staff of A Bit Lucky in San Mateo, California, will join Zynga in San Francisco, according to the blog post.

The studio has been working on a multiplatform, multiplayer game called Solstice Arena for tablets, Macs and PCs, which its team will continue to work on as a Zynga product.

A Bit Lucky joins many of the teams and individuals working on new categories of play for Zynga, Jackson said.

The company hired John Tobias, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series, who joined senior creative director Mark Turmell in the Zynga San Diego studio as creative director, and is already working on a new mid-core game, Jackson said. Soren Johnson, another leading game designer, joined Zynga East in Baltimore and is also working on a stealth project, he added.

"At Zynga, we met people like us: passionate hardcore game developers animated by a strong entrepreneurial spirit," said A Bit Lucky co-founders Frederic Descamps and Jordan Maynard in an email to friends in the industry.

A Bit Lucky's earlier games include Lucky Train and Lucky Space which featured on Facebook.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

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